Matt Tabb, managing director of Wax Communications, warns promoters that it is not always a good idea to look back”Retro”, “nostalgia”, “post-modern”… Call it what you will, but it’s clear the good old days are very “now” when it comes to marketing.

With the credit crunch bearing down on us, the past is a very alluring refuge for brands, and FMCG marketers have responded with a spate of marketing revivals.

Cadbury and Mars, among others, are resurrecting products and slogans of yesteryear to satisfy. But is the return of Marathon, “Work, Rest and Play” and Wispa, back by popular demand, a good move strategically?

Nostalgia has its drawbacks. It can easily appear to be reheated and tired.

It can have a short shelf life. It doesn’t suit all products – technology is only ever forward-looking. It does not travel particularly well – nostalgia is firmly rooted in national culture.

It does not tend to carry younger audiences with it.

And when everybody’s doing it, it stops achieving cut-through and turns into a blunt instrument – check out Hovis’s latest above-the-line campaign, which is a nostalgia fest of epic proportion (We get it!).

The rise of retro has led many to conclude it heralds the end of marketing, “that it is indicative of inertia, ossification and the waning of creativity”, as author Professor Stephen Brown moots in his book Retro-Marketing Revolution.

That’s perhaps a little strong but there is no doubt innovation is vital to keeping heritage brands alive. When Ovaltine was repackaged as “proven” instead of “old”, sales perked up significantly.

Lucozade, probably the most famous brand re-invention, was valued at around £400 million last year by international brand valuation consultancy Intangible Business, who placed it fourth in its 2007 top 100 UK brands chart.

Would it have done so well as a drink to aid the sick and infirm?

There are numerous other similar Lazarus-style brand revivals: The Mini, Burberry, The Beetle, Harley Davidson have all achieved new relevance with modern audiences by going forward not looking back.

How? Firstly, they know who they are.

They are clear about the brand “truths” that have kept customers loyal over the years.

And safe in the knowledge of that they have been bold and outward facing in their marketing.

This is as relevant to sales promotion as any other aspect of brand-building.

Jacobs

Jacobs Cream Crackers have been around for more than 120 years, originally created in 1885.

They remain the fastest-selling crackers in the UK. But they have not stood still with their marketing – or indeed gone backwards despite their brand equity being tied up in the fact they are the “original” cracker and loved by all serious cheese eaters.

These “brand truths” could have become a stuffy and irrelevant campaign in the wrong hands. But pairing the classic cheese-lovers’ brand with the ultimate modern-day cheese-lover – Wallace and his trusty partner Gromit – as it did a few years ago resonated with a new audience without excluding its loyal one.

The “Cracking with Everything” campaign also showed Jacob’s Crackers in a new light, with Wallace demonstrating new and exciting topping ideas in the ad – educational for those who thought they were only good with cheese.

The on-pack prize promotion, which was undertaken by Wax Communications, extended this “modern marriage” by offering winners a neatly-titled “Grand Day Out” to New York. The 10 VIP trips worth £20,000 included a $5,000 shopping spree.

The high-value prize and the New York destination delivered new excitement to what might be considered a conservative brand. The element of surprise is a sure way to invigorate an old story.

Meaningful brand partnerships are another excellent way.

Penguin, now 75 years old, was one of the first biscuits to be advertised by name rather than company. Its association with the distinctive birds (the packaging featuring a giant Emperor Penguin) is synonymous with the brand’s appeal.

Our recent “Sponsor a Penguin” promotion in partnership with WWF tapped into that.

It worked because it retained the timeless penguin association but brought it bang up to date by putting it at the forefront of consumers’ minds for making a positive contribution to tackling climate change.

Another tactic for gaining new focus around an old brand? – limited editions.

We have done several ranges for Hula Hoops, now (shockingly) 25 years old, with different themes including Wild West, Pirate, Space and last year Wizard that picked up on the current popularity around Harry Potter.

New product development, new technology, sponsorships… there are many marketing strategies for helping make sure a brand never looks back, other than… well… simply looking back.

Nostalgia is a stable mate of complacency. Brands that rely purely on their “glory days” are at real risk of finding themselves overtaken, overlooked or undermined.

No brand can rest on the laurels of past reputation – familiar quickly becomes boring and then invisible.

Wax Communications is celebrating worldwide recognition for its long-running Sainsbury’s Active Kids campaign with its ninth award, winning silver at The MAA Globes last night, which recognises the very Best of the Best in Promotion Marketing Awards Programmes across the world.

Wax picked up silver in the ‘Best Effective Long Term Marketing Campaign’ category for Active Kids ‘2005-2007′.

The campaign, which was conceived, delivered and developed by Wax, has gone from strength to strength and met every measure of success including delivering £52m back to communities.

Rod Geoghegan, Wax Communications Business Development Director, says:

“We are absolutely thrilled that this trail-blazing campaign has received worldwide recognition. Sainsbury’s Active Kids has set the benchmark in CSR marketing and it has been a template for other CSR campaigns for other retailers.

Active Kids has become part of shopping culture and is proof that promotions can and do build brands.

Active Kids has proved itself in every way and has already won many awards, and we are delighted it is now winning plaudits on a global stage,” he adds.

Matt Tabb, Wax Managing Director adds:

“This is further proof of how Active Kids has affected people. It’s a winning campaign in every sense of the word and we are delighted that the MAA has recognised the way it has activated shoppers with its vibrancy, brilliant execution and a belief that we could make it work harder each year.

“It has grabbed the imagination of the organisations and individuals associated with it, the schools and groups who join it, the parents who collect the vouchers and the kids who get to try new active equipment and experiences.”

Wax raised the bar on the highly successful four-year initiative again in 2008 with a range of exciting developments, including redeemable vouchers for tickets to live sports events and a new focus on citizenship in line with schools’ new curriculum focus.

The new style Active Kids 08 (AK08), which launched on 14 February, also went global for the first time offering participants the opportunity to collect vouchers for packs of sports equipment to donate to schools in developing countries.

150 MAA judges from 25 Countries, representing agencies, clients, academia, media and industry associations carried out the 2008 judging process between July and September.

ISP | 21.10.08

Wax Communications is celebrating worldwide recognition for its long-running Sainsbury’s Active Kids campaign with its ninth award, winning silver at The MAA Globes last night (October 20), which recognises the very Best of the Best in Promotion Marketing Awards Programmes across the world.

Wax picked up silver in the Best Effective Long Term Marketing Campaign category for Active Kids 2005-2007. The campaign, which was conceived, delivered and developed by Wax, has gone from strength to strength and met every measure of success including delivering £52m back to communities.

Rod Geoghegan, Wax Communications business development director, said:

“We are absolutely thrilled that this trail-blazing campaign has received worldwide recognition. Sainsbury’s Active Kids has set the benchmark in CSR marketing and it has been a template for other CSR campaigns for other retailers. Active Kids has become part of shopping culture and is proof that promotions can and do build brands.

“Active Kids has proved itself in every way and has already won many awards, and we are delighted it is now winning plaudits on a global stage.”

Matt Tabb, Wax managing director, said:

“This is further proof of how Active Kids has affected people. It’s a winning campaign in every sense of the word and we are delighted that the MAA has recognised the way it has activated shoppers with its vibrancy, brilliant execution and a belief that we could make it work harder each year.

“It has grabbed the imagination of the organisations and individuals associated with it, the schools and groups who join it, the parents who collect the vouchers and the kids who get to try new active equipment and experiences.”

Wax raised the bar on the highly successful four-year initiative again in 2008 with a range of exciting developments, including redeemable vouchers for tickets to live sports events and a new focus on citizenship in line with schools’ new curriculum focus.

The new style Active Kids 08 (AK08), which launched on 14 February, also went global for the first time offering participants the opportunity to collect vouchers for packs of sports equipment to donate to schools in developing countries.

150 MAA judges from 25 Countries, representing agencies, clients, academia, media and industry associations carried out the 2008 judging process between July and September.

Congratulations!

Well done to our three students of the ISP – Kate Loosemore, Marc Johnson and Jessica Durham.

They will be shortly collecting their diploma from the ISP at the House of Commons.

Over the last seven years, Wax Communications (the result of the merger of Dynamo Marketing and Catalyst) have put 26 colleagues at the agency through the ISP Diploma – putting us into a group of the top six agencies to do so.

Wax Comminucations will be continuing to support this as part of our ongoing investment in training at the agency.